Stakeholder analysis is the process of identifying and analyzing the stakeholders that are likely to affect or be affected by a particular project or other organizational activity. Used in project management, in conflict resolution, and in organizational transformation and change management.
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Introduction
A stakeholder is any party who may have an interest in an organization’s
activity or could be affected by its outcomes.
Stakeholder Analysis 2
Stakeholders can be any internal or external individuals, groups, departments,
business units, or organizations.
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Primary vs. Secondary Stakeholders
Stakeholders play important roles in projects and organizations, but they
are not all equally involved or affected.
Stakeholder Analysis 3
Primary stakeholders
are those who are part
of the economic
transactions of the
business.
Secondary stakeholders
are those who are
affected by or can affect
the business in
someway.
Distinguishing between primary and secondary stakeholders is important for effective
management and decision-making.
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Examples of Stakeholders
Stakeholder Analysis 4
Lenders
Partners
Unions / regulators
Community groups
The media
Investors
The government
Senior Executives
Shareholders
Customers
Suppliers / contractors
End users
Employees
Families of employees
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Example of Stakeholders
Examples of Primary and Secondary Stakeholders . . .
Stakeholder Analysis 5
Primary Stakeholders:
• Competitors
• Media
• Community groups
• Trade units
• Non-Governmental
Organizations (NGOs)
Primary Stakeholders:
• Employees
• Customers and Clients
• Investors and
Shareholders
• Suppliers and Partners
• Regulatory Bodies
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Stakeholder Analysis
Stakeholder analysis is the process of identifying and analyzing the
stakeholders that are likely to affect or be affected by a particular project or
other organizational activity.
Stakeholder Analysis 6
This impact can be of positive or
negative nature.
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In Project Management
Widely used in project management to develop engagement and cooperation
between project team and project stakeholders.
Stakeholder Analysis 8
This will lead to less conflict
and more cooperation
during the implementation
of the project
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In Project Management
A project stakeholder is any individual or group who is responsible for any
of the project activities or will be affected by the project and its outcome.
Stakeholder Analysis 9
They either can influence the
project or be influenced by it or
its output, even if they are not
directly involved in doing the
project work.
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In Project Management
In project management, stakeholder analysis helps to identify . . .
Stakeholder Analysis 10
The people to be informed during implementation
The people to be engaged and consulted
The people who may have potential positive or negative impact
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In Project Management
Examples of stakeholders for a particular project . . .
Stakeholder Analysis 11
Managers whose resources, schedules, budgets or results will be affected by the project
Senior executives
Suppliers of the process
Finance manager
Procurement manager
HR / training manager
Performance manager
Operations manager
Project team members
Process owner
People who work on the process
Customers of the process output
Project leader
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Stakeholder Identification
The first step is to identify all stakeholders involved in the project.
Stakeholder Analysis 12
Start by brainstorming and listing the individuals and groups who may have a stake
in the project.
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Stakeholder Identification
Once you have developed a list of stakeholders, you need to group them
into logical categories.
Stakeholder Analysis 13
-Organization-
Project
leader
Project
members
-Project-
Senior
management
Process
owner
People who
work on the
process
Other
internal
stakeholders
Customers
Finance
manager
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Stakeholder Involvement
After stakeholder identification, key project stakeholders need to be
involved to achieve project outcomes.
Stakeholder Analysis 14
Stakeholder involvement throughout
the life cycle of the project is critical
to the success of the project.
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Stakeholder Characteristics
Stakeholder analysis involves studying multiple stakeholder characteristics.
Stakeholder Analysis 15
Whether they are
aware and
interested in the
project outcomes
Whether they are
supportive or
resistant to the
project or change
The power and
influence they hold
as determined by
their positions
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The Power-Interest Matrix (Stakeholder Matrix)
One of the most widely used tools for analyzing stakeholders is the power-
interest matrix.
Stakeholder Analysis 17
Consider
Monitor
Engage
Understand
POWER
INTEREST High
Low
High
Low
Stakeholders are divided based on the degree of interest and power.
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The Power-Interest Matrix (Stakeholder Matrix)
Classifies stakeholders into four groups according to the power they hold
and whether they are interested in the project or not.
Stakeholder Analysis 18
and keep informed
Consider
andinformoccasionally
Monitor
Engage
and manage actively
Understand
and satisfy their needs
POWER
INTEREST
Key players
Context setters
Defenders
Crowd
High
Low
High
Low
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The Power-Interest Matrix (Stakeholder Matrix)
High Power and High Interest Stakeholders
Stakeholder Analysis 19
and keep informed
Consider
andinformoccasionally
Monitor
Engage
and manage actively
Understand
and satisfy their needs
POWER
INTEREST
Key players
Context setters
Defenders
Crowd
High
Low
High
Low
Should discuss with them all actions and
plans
Should be closely involved in all project
activities
Nothing should come as a surprise to
them
Examples can be the operations
manager and subject matter experts
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The Power-Interest Matrix (Stakeholder Matrix)
High Power and Low Interest Stakeholders
Stakeholder Analysis 20
and keep informed
Consider
andinformoccasionally
Monitor
Engage
and manage actively
Understand
and satisfy their needs
POWER
INTEREST
Key players
Context setters
Defenders
Crowd
High
Low
High
Low
They can take critical decisions and
reach to more powerful stakeholders
These are the senior stakeholders
Should be kept satisfied to gain their
support
Should be kept informed to maintain
their interest
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The Power-Interest Matrix (Stakeholder Matrix)
Low Power and High Interest Stakeholders
Stakeholder Analysis 21
and keep informed
Consider
andinformoccasionally
Monitor
Engage
and manage actively
Understand
and satisfy their needs
POWER
INTEREST
Key players
Context setters
Defenders
Crowd
High
Low
High
Low
Have little power to influence any
decision
Highly interested in the project
outcomes
Should be kept informed to maintain
their interest
Examples can be the people who will
apply the improved process
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The Power-Interest Matrix (Stakeholder Matrix)
Low Power and Low Interest Stakeholders
Stakeholder Analysis 22
and keep informed
Consider
andinformoccasionally
Monitor
Engage
and manage actively
Understand
and satisfy their needs
POWER
INTEREST
Key players
Context setters
Defenders
Crowd
High
Low
High
Low
Have little interest in the project or
change
Have little power to influence any
decision
Don’t require a great deal of
consideration
Communicate occasionally with them
about important issues and results
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The Power-Interest Matrix (Stakeholder Matrix)
Stakeholders often move around the matrix.
Stakeholder Analysis 23
Some stakeholders will become
more interested as the
implementation progresses and
they start to see that the changes
will affect them.
Others will be more powerful
through internal promotion or
transfer.
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The Power-Interest Matrix (Stakeholder Matrix)
The analysis needs to be carried out regularly throughout the project to
monitor stakeholders’ involvement over time.
Stakeholder Analysis 24
You need to analyze the stakeholders throughout the whole project.
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The Power-Interest Matrix (Stakeholder Matrix)
The four characteristics of stakeholders can be summarized in a table like
the following . . .
Stakeholder Analysis 25
Stakeholder Position Project role Power Aware? Interested? Supportive?
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Power-Interest Matrix Example
Consider the below power-interest table, then plot the stakeholders on an
empty power-interest matrix.
Stakeholder Analysis 26
Stakeholder Position Project role Power Aware? Interested? Supportive?
Adam Finance manager Financial adviser High Somehow No Resistant
Sami Operation manager Process owner Medium Somehow Yes Resistant
Operators Line operators
Users of improved
process
Low Somehow Yes Neutral
Zakaria COO Project sponsor High Yes Yes Supportive
Procurement Procurement - Medium No No Neutral
Sara Training manager Training facilitator Medium Yes Yes Supportive
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Power-Interest Matrix Example
Stakeholder Analysis 27
Consider
Monitor
Engage
Understand
POWER
INTEREST High
Low
High
Low
Zakaria
Sami
Sara Supervisors
Operators
Technicians
CFO
Adam
Procurement
Two
dimensions
“Power” &
“Interest”
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Power-Interest Matrix Example
Stakeholder Analysis 28
Consider
Monitor
Engage
Understand
POWER
INTEREST High
Low
High
Low
Zakaria
Sara Supervisors
Operators
Technicians
CFO
Adam
Procurement Sami
3rd
dimension
“Awareness”
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Power-Interest Matrix Example
Stakeholder Analysis 29
4th
dimension
“Support”
Consider
Monitor
Engage
Understand
POWER
INTEREST High
Low
High
Low
Zakaria
Sami
Sara Supervisors
Operators
Technicians
CFO
Adam
Procurement
Resistant
Supportive
Neutral
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Stakeholder Analysis
Now that you have an idea about the level of involvement each stakeholder
has, what’s next?
Stakeholder Analysis 30
actions and communication required
to close those gaps shall be
implemented.
Gaps between the current and the
desired involvement levels shall be
identified.
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Involvement Planning Worksheet
You may use the following involvement planning worksheet to assess
where stakeholders are now as well as where they need to be in terms of
project involvement.
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Stakeholder
Current Desired
Unaware Aware Interested Supportive Unaware Aware Interested Supportive
Involvement Planning Worksheet
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Communication Planning
The last step is to create a communication plan to send the right message
to the right stakeholder at the right time.
Consider . . .
Roles and
responsibilities
Goals and
needs
Communication
channels
Attitude toward
the project
Frequency of
communication
Contact
information
Power and
interest
Stakeholder Analysis 32
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Communication Planning
A communication plan can be helpful to . . .
Stakeholder Analysis 33
Clarify who will communicate with whom
Know what and when to communicate
Raise awareness about the roles of stakeholders
Know how to interact with stakeholders
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Communication Action Worksheet
Stakeholder Analysis 34
Stakeholder Contact info Method Who? How often? Feedback log
Consider weekly informal chat,
invite to team meetings, emails,
and newsletters
Agree on who is going to
communicate with each
stakeholder
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Communication Hints
When talking directly with stakeholders, consider asking . . .
Stakeholder Analysis 35
What information do they want from you?
What is their current opinion of the project or change?
How do they want to receive information? How frequent?
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Steps for Conducting Stakeholder Analysis
Stakeholder Analysis 36
Invite the project team and key representatives from management
• Explain the purpose for conducting the stakeholder analysis.
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Steps for Conducting Stakeholder Analysis
Stakeholder Analysis 37
Brainstorm the individuals and groups who may have a stake in the project or change effort
• Use the involvement table to help you list the stakeholders and determine their
roles and involvement in the project.
• Try to specify individuals as possible within each stakeholder group.
Stakeholder Position Project role Power Aware? Interested? Supportive?
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Steps for Conducting Stakeholder Analysis
Stakeholder Analysis 38
Plot each individual or group on the power-interest matrix
• Sort them by the power they have and by their interest in the project or change.
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Steps for Conducting Stakeholder Analysis
Stakeholder Analysis 39
Identify the gaps between the current and the desired involvement levels
• Discuss how to manage unawareness, resistance and lack of interest (use the
involvement planning worksheet).
• Create a communication plan to manage ongoing communication with
stakeholders (use the communication action worksheet).
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Further Information
There are other complex versions of the stakeholder matrix,
such as the one that uses a multidimensional matrix which
can analyze three or more categories of stakeholders.
Stakeholder Analysis 40
High
Low
High
Low Medium
Medium
Resistant
Supportive
Neutral
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Further Information
Use the commitment review worksheet to identify how each stakeholder is
likely to respond to the project or change.
Stakeholder Analysis 41
Commitment Review worksheet
Stakeholder Resist No commitment Help it happens Make it happens